Thread by @ibizoboi

I absolutely love that #BlackPanther is bringing Pan-Africanism into the national dialogue. This is the hill I'll die on so I'm gonna share some things & connect them to children's books & education. THREAD!

Pan-Africanism, to me, means connecting to the struggles of people of African descent all over the globe. Not limiting awareness to just American racial politics.

Our kids are so excited about #BlackPanther but their understanding of Africa & Pan-Africanism shouldn't be relegated to fantasy. We've had our own IRL T'Challas & Killmongers, & even Dora Milajes.

To truly empower black kids in this country, show them what it means to be black in the world. Give them a global context for their existence. Move beyond slavery, civil rights, & police brutality. Show them both thriving & struggling African & Caribbean nations.

We love Martin & Malcolm, of course. But what abt Marcus? There are virtually no mainstream pub'd children's books abt Marcus Garvey & the Back to Africa Movement & the Black Star Line. Why not? Malcolm's parents were Garveyites.

We love our children's books about slavery, of course. But what about the books that show us what happened to our brothers & sisters on the other side of the ocean. Ann Grifaleoni & Kadir Nelson's THE VILLAGE THAT VANISHED does just that.

The Sabar drum comes from Senegal & the drumbeat rhythm was all throughout #BlackPanther. What if we taught our children about the incredibly complex & scientific world of African drumming? It would move hip-hop & music in general to another level.

What our young people are doing w/ music & dance is instinctual, ancestral even. But if they knew that this comes from a world where people studied how rhythms affect the body, sets the tone, & even shifts a collective mindset... Gamechanger. Hip-hop is an ancient science.

Our technology isn't just about machines & robots. Our science is magic, and our magic is science. Colonizers couldn't wrap their tiny brains around this. Which is why astronomers are still baffled by the Dogon people of Mali. Our budding scientists should now about the Dogon.

So grateful for @Nnedi's books: African spiritual science, technology, & badass African girls. We need more stories like this to help our kids unpack the languages, the world view, & the history of all of Africa.

What does black boyhood look like globally? Much like the half-truths about gangstas & drug dealers, they're not all child soldiers you know. @LeahsMark ONE SHADOW ON THE WALL is a beautiful portrayal of boyhood in Senegal.

One of the ways I instilled pride in my children was by shaping their aesthetic; allowing them to see blackness in a different light. I own 3 copies of this beautifully illustrated picture book & I've framed some of those pages.

A Wakandan equivalent would be a tie btwn the Yoruba of W. Africa & the Zulu of S. Africa. But the Yoruba Orisha tradition has lasted so long to evolve into Vodou, Santeria, Candomble, & Palo. And part of the mythological world of the biggest books of 2018! @tomi_adeyemi

I was saving this one for last, but there is a YA novel coming out this fall that blew my mind! I have so much respect for @GibneyShannon & her editor @andrewkarre for tackling this important topic. Especially now. Add DREAM COUNTRY to your TBR list! goodreads.com/book/show/3768…

During slavery, there were those of us who sought out a #Wakanda & freed black people were given the opportunity to go back & resettle in what is now known as Liberia. Our children need to know this story.

I love this graphic novel series so much! I'll read this from cover to cover & all is right with the world. The story, the illustrations, the characters all shape our understanding of global blackness and Africanness. I need this to be a movie starring @Lupita_Nyongo.